


until love b(l)inds us

by buenaspalabras



Category: Vis a Vis | Locked In (Spain TV)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Betrayal, Crimes & Criminals, Criminal!Zule, F/F, F/M, Lies, Sexual Tension, Shooting Guns, Slow Burn, Undercover Missions, Undercover!Maca
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:28:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29461284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buenaspalabras/pseuds/buenaspalabras
Summary: As a private investigator, Macarena Ferreiro is asked to join a secret team that investigates a large criminal organization in Spain. The organization is ran by Zulema Zahir, an intelligent criminal who has managed to stay out of prison for her entire life. Macarena goes undercover to gather the necessary evidence to put Zulema behind bars. However, as their relationship evolves into something that goes beyond 'just colleagues', Macarena is faced with the impossible choice to either obstruct the investigation she's been working on for months, or give Zulema up to the police and lose her forever.
Relationships: Hanbal Hamadi/Zulema Zahir, Macarena Ferreiro/Zulema Zahir
Comments: 68
Kudos: 110





	1. case study

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I'm back with a new story. I challenged myself to write a slow burn this time, so please give this story and its plot a chance to develop. I promise it'll be good. 😌
> 
> For now, enjoy the first chapter of 'until love b(l)inds us'. ✨🖤

* * *

_Love could be the force that binds us_

_Or the one that breaks us apart_

_Love could be the light that blinds us_

_And leaves us with a broken heart_

_\- m._

* * *

The annoying beep of an alarm going off pulls Macarena from her comfortable sleep. She groans in protest first and rolls over second, reaching over to press the button and make the electronic device shut up for another eight minutes. 

Today is the day. Although Mondays generally suck, there’s something special about this one. 

Macarena Ferreiro is thirty two and has been working as a private investigator for almost eight years. Businesses hire her on a daily basis to trace fraudulent money and investigate unusual behavior from employees. Individuals hire her to look into possible affairs of spouses, stalking behavior of exes or criminal activities of their children. Macarena is good at her job, excellent if she says so herself. With her bright smile, blonde curls and smart mouth, she can talk her way into (and out of) almost anything, which makes it fairly easy for her to gather her required evidence. 

Those skills and her good track record are exactly the reasons why she has a meeting with the Chief of the Madrid Police Department today. 

She rolls onto her back and stretches, pushing her hands against the headboard and pointing her toes just enough for them to reach the edge of the bed. She’s excited to see what this brings. 

Macarena quickly brushes her teeth and slips into a pair of training shorts and a t-shirt, her usual outfit for a morning run. She’ll have to keep it short this time, though. There’s no way she’s going to be late to her first meeting. 

Twenty minutes later, she enters her apartment again. She kicks off her sneakers next to the door, snatches her phone from where it was charging on the kitchen counter and scans through the messages she got during the night; new investigation requests, a few Instagram notifications and a message from her best friend, Rizos. 

_good luck today! let me know how it goes :)_

Macarena presses the microphone button and swipes up until it starts recording automatically and puts her phone down near the sink in the bathroom. “Hola guapa,” she says, while her fingers start working on untangling a hair tie from her unruly curls. “I’m just about to get in the shower. The meeting isn’t until nine, so I’m actually early for once.” Her messy hair falls over her shoulders and she starts undressing with one hand, while getting two towels from the cupboard below the sink with the other. “I don’t know how long it’ll take, but I’ll text you once I’m done. Love you!” She sends the message and opens Spotify to listen to one of her Daily Mixes while she gets ready for her shower. 

* * *

The Chief greets her outside the police department building in the center of Madrid. Standing in his work uniform, he has just finished his cigarette when Macarena arrives. He shakes her hand, introducing himself before he lets the younger woman into the building. They walk up four flights of stairs to the room where they’re supposed to meet.

Macarena walks in first. The room is small, but the big windows get rid of the claustrophobic feeling by letting in a sufficient amount of light. A long rectangular table with six chairs takes up most of the space. Three chairs are already occupied. One by a friendly looking man, probably around the age of Macarena’s dad, and another one by a younger man who seems around Macarena’s age. The third chair is occupied by a woman with short hair and friendly eyes. 

“Everyone, this is Macarena Ferreiro,” the Chief introduces her. “Macarena, that’s Castillo,” he points towards the older man. “Next to him is Fabio and the woman here is Nerea.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Macarena greets them, before taking a seat next to Nerea. The Chief walks towards the chair at the head of the table and sits down, pulling a few files from his bag. 

“Alright, you’re probably wondering what you’re doing here, so let’s start there," he begins. "Over the past few weeks, I have been in close contact with the Policía Nacional, Policía Municipal and Customs Surveillance Service. We’re here today because I have been given the task to set up a multidisciplinary team to work on a complicated case.” 

He keeps one file for himself and distributes the remaining ones between the four of them. Macarena curiously eyes the description on the front - _confidencial,_ it reads - and looks back at the Chief, who continues his story. 

“A large criminal organization has been active for a few years throughout the entire country, but their headquarters seems to be located here in Madrid. The organization covers multiple areas within law enforcement, hence the request for a multidisciplinary team. Excessive violence, trafficking of and dealing in illegal drugs and firearms, money laundering, hacking into government security systems, and so on.” 

Macarena feels a familiar tingle of excitement run through her body. Most of her cases aren’t this exciting and it’s been _long_ since she’s worked on something that gave her the rush of adrenaline she so desperately needs.

“We think the organization is run by a woman named Zulema Zahir,” the Chief motions for them to open their files. “She’s ridiculously smart and always one step ahead of us. Deals in everything. Drugs, firearms ranging from small handguns to MP5’s, she even has hitmen for hire. You name it, she has it.” 

Macarena stares at the picture in the file. It appears to have been taken by a security camera on Gran Vía, one of the biggest streets in Madrid. The woman looks foreign, maybe Middle Eastern, and she’s walking by herself with her hands buried in her pockets. 

“Why has she never been caught?” Macarena finds herself asking.

“Good question,” the Chief replies. “Like I said, she’s intelligent. She always covers up her traces and makes sure we have no eligible evidence to use against her in court. Not one murder or any other type of criminal activity can be traced back to her.” 

“And why are you setting up this investigation now?” Nerea, the woman next to Macarena asks. 

“It’s been getting worse,” the Chief explains. “More violent deaths. More drug overdoses, which indicates that there are more and larger batches of drugs getting into the city. More criminal activity in general. We’re certain it’s coming from her organization, but we can’t prove it. We have to stop this before it gets out of hand.” 

He finishes his story with a frown on his face and Macarena can tell that he’s under an insane amount of stress. He occasionally rubs the back of his neck and his leg has been bouncing throughout this entire speech. She can’t blame him. 

“What will be our role in this investigation?” Castillo, the older man speaks. “I’m too old to get into any gun fights.” 

They all laugh at that. Macarena decides that she likes him. 

“I know,” the Chief says. “We have decided the following. Castillo, you will be in charge of this group. Fabio, you will work closely with Castillo, like you have been doing for the past few years. You two are responsible for the general investigation and its processes. Nerea, you will assist Castillo and Fabio with the technical side of all of this. I’ve been told you know some things about hacking as well.” 

Macarena laces her fingers together and rests them on the table, making eye contact with the Chief while he finishes up.

“And finally, Macarena. Your task will be the most difficult, and I completely understand if you don’t want to do it,” he pauses, giving her a second to prepare. “We want you to go undercover in Zulema’s organization.”

It goes eerily quiet inside the meeting room. 

This is not what Macarena was expecting, to say the least. Going undercover? She can be a great liar if she has to, but she’s never gone undercover before. The inevitable question leaves her lips rather quickly. 

“Why me?”

“Because of your background,” the Chief explains, “you have extensive experience in all areas. Castillo is without a doubt the best team leader Madrid has ever seen, but he wouldn’t last a week in Zulema’s team. Fabio works incredibly well with Castillo, but he’s better at investigating than going undercover. Nerea is intelligent, but too new for this. You’re the best option. You’re an expert in collecting evidence and we _really_ need definite proof for court, so we can finally catch this woman.” 

Macarena feels four pairs of eyes staring at her intently. She doesn’t feel uncomfortable, but agreeing to this means that the success of the investigation will mostly depend on her. She’s never been part of such an extensive investigation and she rarely ever works in teams. She doesn’t know these people and they don’t know her either. However, they all have the same goal in the end: catching Zulema Zahir and getting her behind bars. Is she going to do this?

“Okay,” Macarena finds herself saying. “I’ll do it.”

A collective sigh eases the tension in the room. The Chief’s leg isn’t bouncing anymore.

“So, Macarena Ferreiro, are you willing to be a part of this investigation?” he asks.

“Yes.”

“Nerea?”

“Yes.” 

“Castillo?”

“Definitely.”

“Fabio?”

“Yeah.” 

“Perfect. Let’s get started, then.” 

* * *

In a nearly empty hangar just outside of the city, a certain criminal organization is holding their weekly meeting. Two women and fourteen men stand together next to metal boxes filled with firearms, bullets and silencers. They’re in the middle of various conversations, until they’re harshly interrupted. 

_“Ya!”_ Zulema’s voice carries clearly in the hangar. “Can I have your attention for one fucking second now, please? Thank you.” 

The conversations stop immediately. A few men throw looks at each other - Zulema is definitely in a mood today - but they remain silent. They know better than to argue with an agitated Zulema. 

“Alright. As you all know, we have a new load arriving in the Port of Málaga tomorrow. Six of you will be going there to make sure everything is transported safely,” Zulema explains. She points at two men towards her left. “You two will be responsible for getting everything in the truck and driving from Málaga to here. And the four of you,” she points at a group of dark-haired men, “will serve as protection and as an extra pair of hands during the loading process.” She turns to the woman standing next to her. “Saray, flight tickets.” 

A younger brunette pulls six flight tickets from her pocket and hands them over to the chosen men for the job. “Your flight is tomorrow morning at 6:25. You’ll arrive in Málaga at 7:45. There’ll be an escort waiting to get you to the harbor. In the harbor itself, an empty truck will be ready for you to load it with our shipment. Clear?”

Everyone nods.

“Thanks, Saray,” Zulema takes over from the younger brunette again. “ _Vale._ Any other updates?” 

“Our systems are ready for tomorrow. If they encounter any problems in Málaga, we can take over the security systems of the harbor.” The confident voice belongs to Julián. He’s the leader of the hackers within the organization and also the one in charge of their most important contacts all over the world. He is loyal, works hard and is one of the few people Zulema doesn’t hate.

“Perfect,” Zulema replies. “ _Algo más?”_

“We sold the last batch of xtc and cocaine. A new list of orders is on your desk.”

Zulema nods. She scans the rest of the group and everyone shakes their heads. Until she locks eyes with Hanbal. 

_“Tú?”_

_“Sí,_ ” the young man answers. “I have a new client. €15.000,- next week.”

Hanbal Hamadi is an excellent shooter and therefore a professional hitman. He works for Zulema’s organization and for himself, because there are some clients Zulema doesn’t want to be associated with. He never thought he’d be able to make enough money out of this; apparently there are enough people in this city who want someone dead, but don’t want to get their hands dirty. 

Aside from being a hitman, Hanbal is also Zulema’s boyfriend. 

The two of them fled Egypt many years ago and moved to Spain, where they met Saray. The _gitana_ was acquainted with a few dealers, but she wanted to make money for herself. So, they started building this organization with the three of them, until Julián wanted to join. He proved to be very useful with his hacker skills and contacts all over the world. They wouldn’t be anywhere without him, but Zulema loves Saray and Hanbal just a little more. They’re special. 

“Great,” Zulema’s expression softens a little when her boyfriend smiles at her. “Alright. That was it for this week. Málaga group, keep me updated tomorrow.” 

A few nods here and there announce the end of this meeting. Hushed conversations continue and the men scatter in different directions. 

* * *

The Chief has taken them from the small meeting room to an open-plan office with four desks and computers. 

“This will be your office for the entire duration of the investigation,” he tells them. “Each one of you gets their own key; no one else has access to this room, so everything you leave in here will be absolutely safe. Coffee and tea is over there,” he points towards a small kitchen counter. “If you need me, my office is on the fifth floor. Castillo will be giving me daily updates on your progress, but if there’s something you want to speak to me about in private, you know where to find me.” 

They all thank him and find their places behind the desks. Castillo is the first one to speak.

“Well,” he starts, “I’m supposed to be in charge, but I want this to be a collaborative effort. We’re not going to get anywhere with me bossing you around.” 

Macarena had already decided that she liked him, but she likes him even more now.

“Let’s do a quick introduction round before we start working on a plan,” he suggests, ”I’m Castillo. I’ve been working with the police my entire life and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m the leader of one of Madrid’s departments.” 

After a few seconds of silence, Fabio takes over. “I’m Fabio. This is my tenth year as a policeman. Castillo and I go way back, I’ve been working with him ever since I started the training program.” 

“I’m Nerea,” the woman next to Macarena starts. “I used to work as an ethical hacker, but I just started working as an _oficial de policía._ My main specialty is technology and tracing online traffic.” 

Finally, it’s Macarena’s turn.

“I’m Macarena. I’ve been a private investigator for almost eight years now. Gathering evidence, observing and analyzing behavior, tracing fraudulent money, I’ve probably seen and done it all.” 

Once she’s finished, they have some small talk about their lives before taking out the files they’ve been given earlier. From behind the office desks, they talk about Zulema, her behavior and her history. They go through all the files, most of them filled with crimes and some with background information on possible members of the organization. 

“I’ll see if I can find unusual transactions that can be linked to her or any of her organization’s members,” Nerea offers. “If we have insight in the transactions, we might be able to find out just how big this organization is.”

“I’ll gather all the information about her and her organization that we have in our system,” Fabio adds.

“I could observe her for a while and keep track of her movements and her contacts,” Macarena says. “Give me a week and I’ll know everything about Zulema's daily life.” 

“Okay,” Castillo nods. “Next Monday, we’ll meet again to discuss all the information and set up an undercover plan for Macarena. And remember, this is a closed operation. Only the four of us and some higher-ups know about this. Not a single word can leave the building; no family members, friends, aunts or uncles can know. If you want to talk to someone, talk to me.” 

They all agree to that. Numbers are exchanged and files are closed, before they finally leave the building one by one.

Let the undercover operation begin.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next week's chapter is called _the first encounter_. figure that one out for yourself. 😌


	2. the first encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me to my mom the other day: "Don't worry if the FBI shows up at our door one of these days, I've been googling 'how to transfer illegal money to foreign bank accounts' and 'best ways to launder money'. It was just for a fanfic."
> 
> Let's hope it was worth it.

“And?”

“We’re fully loaded and on our way back to Madrid, boss. No problems.” 

Zulema sighs, relieved. The tension she unconsciously held in her body before this phone call slowly disappears and her muscles finally relax as she sits back on the only comfortable chair in her office. Saray gives her a thumbs up from the other side of the room.

“Great. Let me know when you’re an hour away.” 

She disconnects and her phone disappears into her pocket. The two women find themselves in Zulema’s office, if you could even call it that. It’s more of a small, dark room without windows in the back of their hangar, but it’ll have to do. At least it has a desk and a table, four chairs and a small couch. Zulema recently bought a fridge as well, so she can keep some beers cold in case they want one. 

“We have to start working on a plan for our next operation,” Zulema starts. She pushes her chair backwards and puts her feet up on her desk. “I’m going to need your flirting skills, _gitana._ ” 

Saray starts to laugh. “Which flirting skills? They’re pretty much non-existent. Unless you’re talking about women, but I doubt that.” 

“No,” Zulema replies. “We need someone to seduce the manager of a casino in the city. He's the owner of the laptop we need to have in order to get the cryptocurrency. If someone seduces him and manages to take him into a back room somewhere to spend a few minutes, I can get into his office and get the stuff." 

“I’m not fucking anyone,” Saray counters. “You know that.”

“You wouldn’t have to.” Zulema opens one of her drawers and pulls out a blank piece of paper and a pen. “Look. This is the casino hall, this is his office,” she starts drawing, “they're not too far away from each other. I’ll be with you in a minute and we’ll lock him inside the room. Maybe a few kisses, but that’s it.” 

“And what makes you think he’ll be seduced at once?” Saray shakes her head. “He won’t. What would _you_ do if a stranger suddenly comes up to you and does that?”

“Exactly,” Zulema points at her best friend. “That’s why we’ll be going there more often from now on. Just the two of us, playing a casual casino game like the good friends we are, so we can get to know him. So he can get to know _us,_ too. We have to become regulars and make him trust us.”

“As you know, trust is everything,” Saray finishes for her. “Yeah, I know.” 

Zulema purses her lips and stares at the piece of paper, thinking. They could make a lot of money if this works out. Julián has been doing some research and discovered that the casino manager trades in cryptocurrency. In order to steal from him without leaving digital traces, they’ll need access to the personal files on his laptop. Julián is good, but even he can’t hack into the manager’s laptop from a distance. 

“It would be better to have someone who can _actually_ flirt with men,” Zulema mumbles to herself. “That would make this a lot easier.” 

“Hey, a little faith would be nice. I have some time to practice my skills,” Saray replies. 

“The non-existent ones you said? You better start practicing right away then.” 

* * *

The team with the difficult task of investigating Zulema Zahir meets again on Monday. Castillo and Fabio have set up a standard whiteboard in the middle of their private office with the information they have up until now. They’ll definitely be adding to that later, because Nerea spent all week behind her computer and Macarena did her own research on Zulema and her organization as well. 

“Can I start?” the blonde asks. 

“Sure,” Castillo answers and hands her a whiteboard marker. Macarena takes it and uses the little magnets on the whiteboard to put up some pictures she took. 

“Okay. Zulema seems to have different locations throughout the city. Sometimes, she works from behind her laptop while sitting in a cafe, other times she drives to a hangar outside of the city. I couldn’t stay there and observe what she was doing and for how long, because she has guys on the lookout,” Macarena explains. “I didn’t get close to her anywhere, by the way. The last thing I want is her recognizing me.” 

Fabio and Nerea are staring at her intently, Castillo has a hint of a smile on his face. He seems proud of her already. 

“The address Fabio gave me matches with the place she usually stays during the night. Let’s call that her home address from now on.” Macarena hangs a picture of a building in the middle of the city on the whiteboard and writes _home address - zulema zahir_ above it in quick, scribbled handwriting. “I’m also pretty sure that she has a boyfriend. This is him,” she puts a new photograph next to the picture of Zulema’s home address. It shows a younger man with the same Middle Eastern appearance as Zulema; they’re embracing each other in front of a building, and they can be seen kissing on the third picture Macarena shows them.

“Wait, I’ve seen his face somewhere,” Fabio interrupts. He pulls out one of his files and quickly searches for the right one, flipping the pages until he finds the one he needs. “Here. Hanbal Hamadi. Castillo and I found his name in an old case file. The case itself concerned the murder of a business man; it wasn’t interesting at first, until we saw that he’d been shot by a long range sniper rifle.”

“That’s unusual,” Macarena frowns.

“Exactly,” Fabio replies. “That’s why we left it in here. Hanbal was an initial suspect, but he was never charged. Lack of evidence.” 

“As always,” Castillo sighs. “Evidence is crucial. We need as much as we can get during this operation, Ferreiro.” 

Macarena looks at her addition to the information on the whiteboard. They already have some general information on Zulema and her organization, but Macarena still has no idea what the woman is like. She’ll find out soon enough, though.

She faces Nerea. “Your turn?” 

The short haired woman nods and takes Macarena’s position in front of the whiteboard, while the blonde sits back down behind her desk again. 

“I’ve been looking into their financial situation. There are many ways to launder money,” Nerea explains. “A simple way would be to own a company, preferably small and unnoticeable, like a local restaurant. The only thing you have to do is inflate the daily cash receipts and funnel your illegal cash through the restaurant and into its bank account. You can withdraw cash from there without it looking suspicious.” 

“But if they make thousands, maybe millions of euros, that’s inconvenient,” Macarena frowns. “If not outright impossible.” 

“Exactly,” Nerea answers. “That’s why they’ve chosen a different way. I think they’re using proxy servers, foreign bank accounts and cash transfers to make themselves digitally untraceable.” 

“Proxy what?” Castillo interrupts. 

“Sorry. A proxy server functions as an intermediary server between your computer and the internet. If you connect to the Internet via your computer, the IP address of your computer will be visible. If you connect to the internet via a proxy, the IP address of that proxy will be visible. So, if they use proxy servers, it’ll be almost impossible to track their real IP address.” 

“For their money transactions, this means their money can be transferred without leaving a trace of an IP address,” Macarena adds. “We won’t know where they’re transferring money from, or where they’re transferring money to.”

“I think we should look into foreign bank accounts first, we can do transactions later,” Castillo suggests. “Nerea?” 

“Agreed. Which locations?”

“I’d start with tax havens,” Castillo answers. “Fabio, can you go through our database and make a list of most suitable countries? And secondly, I’d try countries in the Middle East. We don’t know exactly where Zulema is from, but it seems that she and a few of her people are from the Middle East. Maybe they have bank accounts there.” 

Everyone nods. Fabio writes something down on his notepad and Nerea abandons her place in front of the whiteboard to sit down on her chair again. 

“Alright,” Castillo says. “Now, the most important thing. Macarena going undercover.”

All eyes focus on Macarena again. Nerea looks a little uncertain. 

“Are we sure this is a good idea?” she asks. “I mean, I know Macarena agreed, but it’s really dangerous. Zulema isn’t particularly nice to traitors.” 

“It’s our only way to get all the necessary information,” Macarena replies. “If the police haven't been able to get her behind bars with their regular investigations, we’ll have to try a different approach. I don’t mind. I know the risks, but I want to do this.” 

Nerea doesn’t look entirely convinced, but she shrugs and motions for her to continue.

“I have the following idea,” Macarena offers. “She’s a regular at a cafe in Salamanca. By a regular, I mean that she’s been there at least three times during the last week. I’ve been in contact with the owner and fed him a believable story without actually going into detail about this operation. He said he’d hire me, for the time being.” 

“You as a waitress?” Fabio smiles. “Interesting.”

Macarena glares at him. “What? I have experience. I worked as a waitress when I was in college,” she defends herself. “Besides, a cafe seems like a good opportunity to make contact with her for the first time. It’s a safe and relaxed environment.” 

Castillo grabs one of his files and stands up, before he makes his way over to the whiteboard. “I talked to one of our profilers last week. We came to the conclusion that it would be best to approach her directly. In a regular undercover operation, you’d be working in that cafe for weeks and gradually build up the conversation, but this is not a regular undercover operation,” Castillo says. “Based on what we know about her way of working and the people she has around her, we compiled a list and a strategy.” 

Macarena takes out her own notebook and steals Fabio’s pen from his desk to make some notes, while Castillo continues to talk.

“Zulema is a natural leader. She’s dominant and cherishes feelings of superiority. Don’t do anything to threaten that position, because it won’t get you anywhere except for on her bad side,” Castillo explains. “She is most likely very direct and impatient. Small talk probably annoys her. If you want something, be direct.” 

Macarena nods. “Okay. Is there anything specific you want me to say?”

“It’s going to depend on the situation,” Castillo replies. “We don’t know for sure how she’ll react, but you’re experienced enough to handle this. Just make contact and above all, make sure she remembers you.” 

That shouldn’t be too difficult. 

* * *

Two days later, Macarena finds herself standing behind the bar at the mentioned cafe. She’s wearing a simple white blouse tucked into black jeans, just like the regular staff here, and she looks like any other waitress. 

Zulema doesn’t come by that Wednesday. Macarena nevertheless serves food and drinks to customers and can’t help but feel a little useless, especially when she still hasn’t seen Zulema halfway through her next shift on Thursday. 

She’s just serving two coffees to an older pair when the door opens. 

There she is. 

Zulema Zahir. Raven hair, dark eyeliner and even darker clothes. She greets Macarena’s boss, who’s cleaning up behind the bar, and passes the blonde on her way to a table near the window. 

Suddenly, a feeling of nervousness overwhelms Macarena. Seeing Zulema Zahir’s photo on a whiteboard in a meeting room is very different from actually seeing her in real life. She’s been observing her for the past week, but that was from a safe distance. Having her here is very different; the way she shrugs off her coat and carefully drapes it over the wooden chair before sitting down, makes it almost impossible to believe that she’s the dangerous criminal Maca has been learning about. 

The blonde brings two empty cups and three plates back into the kitchen. She quickly rinses her tray and makes her way back into the cafe, towards Zulema. The brunette has opened a laptop and is typing something when Macarena arrives at her table. 

_“Buenas tardes._ ” Maca ensures her voice is steady. “What can I get you?” 

Zulema looks up from her screen and gives the blonde a once-over. Macarena somehow manages to keep a straight face. 

“I’ll have a coffee,” Zulema finally answers. “Milk and sugar.” 

“On its way,” Macarena replies and turns around. She lets out a breath she was unaware of holding in. 

Everything runs smoothly. She gets Zulema her coffee and the brunette thanks her without so much as looking up from her laptop screen. Macarena continues serving other customers while occasionally glancing at Zulema, who seems completely wrapped up in whatever it is she’s doing. 

When Zulema orders her third coffee, Macarena knows it’s time to make a move. The brunette never spends more than three hours here, Maca learned that while observing her last week. This’ll probably be her last coffee before she leaves again. 

Macarena finds a small post-it note and a pen behind the bar. She thinks for a few seconds and finally decides on writing something short and simple - her phone number and _call me_ right below it - and hides it in her hand. Steadying herself, she walks over to the brunette's table. Zulema looks up at her this time and smiles briefly when Macarena sets the cup down.

“Your coffee,” the blonde says. Quickly and very smoothly, she slides the post-it over the table and halfway underneath the coffee cup. Zulema’s eyes follow it, but her face stays neutral. 

“Thank you,” she replies and focuses on her laptop screen again. Macarena turns around and walks away like nothing happened. 

Fifteen minutes later, Zulema is packing up her things and slides into her coat again. Macarena makes sure to remain behind the bar, because Zulema will have to pay right there and that gives her another chance to talk to her. 

She pretends to be very busy cleaning the counter and _definitely_ pretends to not notice the brunette walking up to her. Zulema casually rests one arm on the counter and makes eye contact with Macarena, who finds that the brunette’s eyes are dark green and unreadable. 

Macarena quickly glances at the cash register and back at Zulema again. 

“That’ll be €6,30,- please,” she says. 

Zulema reaches into her pocket and hands a €10,- bill over to Macarena.

"Here you go."

And then, eventually, she adds. 

“Just so you know, _rubia,_ I’m not interested in hookups _._ ”

Macarena suppresses a laugh. Is that what Zulema thinks? 

“Good,” she replies. “Me neither.” 

“Then what do you want?”

Macarena glances around the cafe to make sure nobody is listening, before she leans forward a little. “Your business,” she answers. “I want in.” 

If Zulema is surprised at this unexpected answer, she hides it very well. Her eyes remain locked with Macarena’s and the young blonde has to work very hard to not look away. Zulema’s gaze is dangerous, but Macarena wouldn’t be good at her job if she didn’t recognize the slight sparkle of curiousness underneath it.

“Keep the change.”

Zulema’s reply is sudden and breaks the spell between the two of them. Macarena can’t do anything but watch as the brunette makes her way out of the cafe without saying another word. 

Fuck.

* * *

“I was told to be direct!”

“Well, great job!” Fabio counters. “Now we’re never going to get her.” 

In their private office, the four of them stand in a circle as they discuss the previous developments. Fabio points an accusing finger at Macarena while the blonde rests her hands on her hips, already completely fed up with this guy in front of her. 

“Fabio,” Castillo interrupts. “ _Déjala_. She did a good job.” 

“A good job? Zulema walked away!”

“I know what I’m doing,” Macarena interrupts. “She’ll come back. I know it.”

“How can you be so sure?” 

Macarena can’t find a quick answer to that. She’s just sure. She can feel it. There’s something about her own behavior that sparked Zulema’s interest and the brunette will have to act on it. Even from the little knowledge she has about Zulema, Macarena knows it’s unlike her to let it go. 

“I just am.” 

Castillo looks back and forth between Macarena and Fabio. “Stop this. Ferreiro, you did a good job. I agree with you, I think Zulema will come back to see you. Fabio, you have to trust your colleagues. We all have the same goal in the end.” 

The other man grudgingly agrees and goes to sit behind his desk. Macarena takes her place opposite him. 

“I’m working again tomorrow,” Macarena says, mainly to Castillo. “When she comes back, I need to be there.”

“If she comes back,” Fabio counters. 

“ _When._ ”


	3. invitation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little short, but next week's will be longer again. ✨

“And he’s single?” Rizos sits down on Macarena’s couch. “Why don’t you just go for it?”

“ _Por favor,_ ” Macarena rolls her eyes and sets their glasses down on the table. “He’s been an asshole so far. And I have to focus on my work, not on relationships.” 

The blonde has told her best friend about ‘a new case’ she’s working on. Everything is obviously confidential, so she keeps it as vague as possible by leaving out all the details. She even refrains from mentioning the names of her colleagues, just to be safe. However, as soon as Macarena mentions that she’s working with a man around her age, Rizos can’t help herself. 

“Maybe he’s really nice and you just haven’t gotten to know him,” she says. “What does he look like?”

“ _Rizos,_ ” Macarena shakes her head while she briefly thinks about Fabio. “Stop it. This is not going to happen.” 

“Okay, okay,” Rizos replies. “I’m just saying, if you do hook up with him, you owe me €20,-”.

All she gets for that is a smack on her shoulder from Macarena. The blonde is used to it, though. The two of them banter about pretty much anything; food, relationships, tv shows, future plans. However, they somehow always manage to solve their differences. Macarena through words and Rizos through actions. 

“Anyway, how’s your love life?” the blonde asks. 

Rizos sighs. “Well, I matched with this girl on Tinder last week and we went out yesterday, but … no. Not really my type.”

“Better luck next time,” Macarena reassures her.

“I mean, I still slept with her,” Rizos grins and takes a sip of her drink.

“You’re unbelievable,” Macarena laughs and shakes her head. “Fine, do your thing, but make sure to-”

“Communicate,” Rizos fills in for her. “I know.”

They sip their drinks in silence while Macarena scrolls through Netflix, looking for a movie to watch. For some reason, every single movie she comes across reminds her of Zulema; criminals, gun violence, psychological tension or just an older woman with raven hair. She doesn’t let it show on her face - Rizos notices everything - and scrolls to the family movies section instead.

“Is this your way of telling me you want to spend the rest of your life with me?” Rizos jokes. “Start a family, live happily ever after.”

“Shut up,” Maca smiles. “Choose. The Jungle Book or The Lion King?” 

They settle on The Lion King in the end. Macarena gets a blanket and snacks, before she cuddles into Rizos’ side, rests her head on her shoulder and thanks the universe for having such an amazing best friend who’s willing to watch childish movies with her to relax. 

* * *

On the other side of the city, Zulema meets Saray just outside the hangar. The _gitana_ usually arrives early to their private meetings - those with just Zulema, Saray, Hanbal and Julián - and this leaves them some space to talk. 

Zulema had already informed Saray about the unknown waitress at the cafe and the young brunette brings the topic up immediately. 

“So, she offered to work for you?” Saray leans against the metal building, lighting a cigarette. “Damn.”

“She didn’t _offer,_ ” Zulema replies, replaying the earlier events in her head. She remembers how the blonde stranger slipped a post-it note underneath her coffee cup, containing the two words 'call me' in neat handwriting and finally remembers their short conversation at the counter. “She just stated that she wanted in _y_ _ya_.” 

“Well great, we have a volunteer. What’s- hey!” Saray complains when Zulema takes her newly lit cigarette and takes a drag. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Everything.” Zulema slowly exhales the smoke. “I have to find out her reason behind this before I even _think_ about letting her join us. We wouldn’t be where we are today if I simply let everyone in who offered.” 

“What does she look like?” Saray’s mind is clearly on other things.

“Blonde,” Zulema answers. She’s started calling the stranger _la rubia_ in her head, by lack of a real name. “Probably around your age.” 

“What about her flirting skills?” 

“ _Yo qué sé, tía._ I was focused on my coffee, not on her.” 

Saray tilts her head, thinking hard. “You know what?” she starts. “You should go back and talk to her. If she has good flirting skills, we might need her for our next operation. She could easily get us in there, probably a lot easier than either one of us could.” 

“I want to get to know her first. No one just walks up to me and says they want in my organization.”

“Well, you could ask that too while you’re at it.” 

“Hm,” Zulema finishes her cigarette and drops it onto the concrete, before stepping on it with her platform boot. “I’ll see.” 

“Bring her here for a meeting with the four of us, if you want,” Saray offers. “Four pairs of eyes are always better than one.” 

“I’m not bringing her here right away, _imbécil._ Not to our headquarters,” Zulema sighs exasperatedly. “If, and I mean _if_ , I think she could be a good fit, I’ll bring her to the other hangar. We don’t have valuable things there.” 

“ _Vale,_ ” Saray replies. She lights another cigarette and hands it to Zulema, before lighting a new one for herself. “How are things with Hanbal?”

At the mention of her boyfriend’s name, Zulema’s heart flutters. There are two people on this earth she truly loves; one of them is standing next to her, the other one is on his way here for their meeting. Hanbal. They’ve been through hell and back together and although they fight a lot - two strong personalities often clash - she loves him. 

“We’re good.” Zulema’s answer to the question is late. “We’re thinking about moving in together.” 

Zulema and Hanbal still have their separate apartments in the city, because Zulema wasn’t sure they’d work out. When their organization grew bigger, she expected Hanbal would want to take the lead and be the boss of everything. It turned out that he didn’t do any of that. He let Zulema do her thing and the brunette has realized that she can stop waiting for the other shoe to drop, simply because it isn’t going to. 

“Speaking of the devil,” Saray motions towards the entrance. A familiar Audi drives up to the entrance and one of the men on the lookout opens the gate for him. The loud bass from Hanbal’s music can be heard from where the two women are standing and Zulema shakes her head at the irresponsibly high volume of his music.

She quickly finishes her second cigarette and turns towards the door. 

“ _Vamos._ Let’s get things ready.” 

* * *

Macarena grabs two beer glasses and quickly rinses them under the cold water. Her fourth shift of this week is almost over and Zulema still hasn’t shown up. It’s only when she finishes tapping the beers and places them on the tray that she recognizes an already familiar voice.

“ _Hola._ ” Zulema glances towards the bar and closes the door behind her, before walking over to the same table as last time and draping her jacket over the chair again. 

_“Buenas,_ ” Macarena greets her, unable to keep the smile out of her voice. “I’ll be with you in a second.” 

She quickly takes the beers to their respective table and makes her way over to Zulema right after. 

“Hey.”

“ _Hola, rubia,_ ” Zulema greets her. “Working again?” 

Of course Zulema would recognize her after last time, but Macarena isn’t prepared for the unfamiliar feeling settling in her chest when Zulema calls her _rubia._

“ _Sí_ ,” Macarena answers eventually. “What can I get you?”

“Same as last time.” 

Zulema zips her bag open and pulls out a laptop, not saying another word. Although Macarena was told to be direct, she decides to wait this time. Bringing the subject up again this soon won’t do any good, she thinks. So, she simply walks back to the bar and starts preparing a coffee with milk and sugar and two orders for other occupied tables. 

When Zulema seems to be fully wrapped up in her work, Macarena decides to observe her from her safe spot behind the bar. She carefully inspects the way Zulema’s fingers slide over the laptop keys and press down, before one hand comes up and runs through her raven hair. Macarena watches as Zulema then rubs her neck with the same hand and rolls her shoulders, as if trying to relieve the tension in her body. 

Zulema must be stressed most of the time, Macarena realizes. Running an organization like this one can’t be good for your health. 

Suddenly, Zulema looks up and meets light green eyes; Macarena startles and quickly looks away, trying to pretend she wasn’t looking, but the brunette isn’t stupid.

Now they’ve made eye contact anyway, Zulema decides to observe the blonde waitress from her spot at her table. She watches a slight blush creep up the blonde’s cheeks when she realizes that she’s been caught staring, and Zulema smiles. _La rubia_ isn’t discreet, that’s a fact, but Zulema subconsciously finds herself thinking about ways she could fit in her organization. Maybe Saray was right. 

Zulema’s eyes are still on _la rubia_ when that one serves lunch at a table near her and smiles brightly at the customers, before saying something that makes the man and the woman at the table laugh. 

When Zulema notices that she somehow has a smile on her face as well, she quickly focuses on her laptop screen again and shields her face with her right hand, pretending to be deep in thought by the time Macarena walks past her again. 

Fifteen minutes later, the blonde waitress comes by to pick up Zulema’s empty coffee cup. She acts completely casual, but secretly hopes Zulema will make a move now.

It turns out that today is her lucky day. 

“ _Oye_ ,” the older woman speaks up while Macarena balances the empty cup on her already full tray. “I want to talk to you. When do you finish your shift?” 

_Finally,_ Macarena thinks to herself. She turns to look at the clock hanging above the bar. 

“One hour and fifteen minutes.” 

Zulema nods in agreement. “You better get me another coffee then.” 

It’s a small, but sudden breakthrough in a case which will most likely drag on for months. Maca couldn’t be happier. 

“Coming up,” she flashes a smile at Zulema. “And it’s Macarena, by the way.” 

While she walks back to the kitchen, she realizes that suddenly, she can't wait to finish her shift. 

* * *

Exactly one hour and fifteen minutes later, Macarena emerges from the kitchen in her white blouse and black jeans, but without a tray in her hand this time. Zulema is already waiting for her at the bar. 

“ _Lista?”_

Macarena feels the tingle of excitement she was so desperately looking for. 

_“Sí.”_

Zulema walks outside first and Macarena follows her, scanning the brunette’s clothes for anything that looks like a weapon. She knows she’s not in immediate danger, out here on a street in the middle of the city with a woman who works so discreetly that she’s never been caught, but she just wants to know if Zulema is armed. It doesn’t look like it, but her coat is too loose to be absolutely certain. 

The brunette takes them to her car and motions for Macarena to get in the passenger’s seat. The blonde obeys and gets in on the right side of the car, whereas Zulema gets in on the left side. Their doors fall shut at the same time and Maca turns to look at the older woman, just as that one looks at her too. 

“What did you want to talk about?” Macarena asks, as if she doesn't know. 

Zulema briefly observes her before she starts to speak. 

“Your love letter from earlier this week,” she answers the question. “You said you wanted in.” 

Macarena crosses her feet at the ankles and rests her hands in her lap, trying to relax. She needs to be comfortable to be able to pay attention to every detail, every word and every movement Zulema makes. 

“I do,” she answers. 

“Why?” 

“Money. I make absolutely nothing as a waitress, as you can imagine,” Macarena motions towards the cafe across the street from Zulema’s car. “I like buying things. Clothes, a nice apartment, but I can’t do that with my paycheck. I want more money, even if it’s illegal.” 

“And?” Zulema pressures.

“And what?”

“There must be more reasons,” Zulema states. “Money is attractive, I definitely won’t deny that, but why does such a polite woman like you want to join a criminal organization?”

 _Polite my ass,_ Macarena thinks. _Soon she’ll know me well enough to realize I can be anything but polite._

“I’ve heard about you and your business,” the blonde explains. “Sometimes at a bar, sometimes on the street. It intrigued me. Now, I want to know what it’s like; I want to feel the adrenaline that comes with successfully pulling off a deal, I want to be a part of something that’s so incredibly private and hidden but somehow integrated in every single part of society.” 

Zulema’s eyes never leave Macarena’s as she says these words. The brunette has never heard someone speak like this about her organization; it almost seems like the kind of language that would be used in a scientific journal, but it strangely fits the image Zulema has of her own organization. Hidden from most, but omnipresent among those who matter. 

She scans the blonde in front of her. Observing, deciding. She can’t quite put her finger on what it is, but Macarena has something that sparks her interest and that can’t be said about many people. Zulema doesn’t like people, doesn’t like them in general. Too loud, too nosy, too childish. This is the main reason why her organization only consists of sixteen people. It's a small group, but at least all of them are smart enough, don't annoy her, and are capable of following her orders.

“Introduce yourself,” Zulema says out of the blue. Her voice is steady and Maca briefly wonders if this woman is ever afraid of something. If the sudden change in Zulema's attitude surprises her, she doesn’t show it. 

“Macarena Ferreiro,” she starts. “Thirty two. I studied social and cultural anthropology at the University of Madrid.” 

“Ah, another boring straight-A student.” 

“I barely passed my final exams,” Macarena counters. “No straight A’s for me. And there’s nothing boring about being a student. It’s nice to learn things.” 

Zulema raises her eyebrows, but doesn’t comment on it.

“When I finished my degree, I worked as a public relations officer,” Macarena continues. “After a few years, I decided that I actually hated my job, and I started working in this cafe while I went looking for something else.” 

“And this ‘something else’ has become my organization,” Zulema questions.

“Yes.” 

“Give me one good reason why I would let you in.” 

“It’s always great to have women in a gang, no?” Macarena smiles, never breaking eye contact with the other woman. She needs to push through, she needs to arrange a meeting, a deal, _something._

“Listen, rubita, I don’t know shit about you. You could be an undercover working for the police for all I know.” 

“You really think I’d approach you like this if I was?” Macarena chuckles. She doesn’t miss how Zulema’s eyes flash dangerously at the idea of someone making fun of her. “No way. Police investigations are much more secretive.” 

“And you know that because?”

“I have a few contacts.”

“Do you now,” Zulema counters. There’s no denying it; she’s definitely intrigued by Macarena and seriously considering Saray’s earlier proposition, which involved inviting the blonde over to one of their smaller, less important hangars, with little to no sensitive information (or guns for that matter) lying around. She doesn’t know what it is, but this blonde has _something_ and she wants to know if Saray has the same feeling about her. The two of them have always been on the same page. 

“Are you free this Friday evening?” Zulema asks. 

Macarena nods in response. 

“Perfect. I want my team to meet you and say what they think about you,” Zulema states. “Think of it as an entrance exam. If you manage to convince the four of us, you might have a chance of getting in. Not without a final test, though.” 

Macarena nods in understanding. She gives herself a mental high five for pulling this off. 

“I’ll see you on Friday then,” Zulema says. The tone of her voice indicates the end of this conversation and Macarena uncrosses her legs, one hand reaching for the door handle as Zulema adds, “I’ll text you the address.”

The blonde frowns. “You still have my number?” she questions. 

“Why do you sound so surprised?”

“I- I don’t know,” Macarena stumbles over her words. “I figured you’d have thrown that post-it in the nearest dumpster.” 

“I could still do that, if you don’t get out of my car right now.” 

“Alright, alright, I'm going,” the blonde opens her car door and throws a final look over her shoulder before getting out. “See you on Friday.” 

The door falls closed behind her, leaving Zulema to herself in the silence of her car and Macarena surrounded by others on the busy streets of Madrid. Without knowing it of each other, they both grab their phones and open their digital agendas to mark the upcoming Friday evening as _busy_.

Zulema writes 'meeting with _la rubia'._ She clicks on save and exits the app, before locking her phone again.

Macarena writes 'meeting with Zulema'. She clicks on save and exits the app, before typing a message to Castillo to inform him of her breakthrough. 

She does it without thinking. She doesn't even feel guilty for betraying Zulema's trust like that. 

Not yet. 


	4. meeting the team

In response to Macarena’s developments, Castillo calls the team together for a meeting about the general undercover operation. Since Nerea is still in the middle of tracking money and Fabio is still working on a full profile of Zulema in collaboration with Castilo, they currently don’t have much important information to share. Macarena’s breakthrough is the most important part of their get together.

“I will be meeting with Zulema tonight,” Macarena announces. “She texted me, I have already shared her phone number with Nerea to be traced. She invited me over to one of their hangars to meet her team, I’m assuming the most important people from the organization will be there.” 

“I’m guessing Zulema and Hanbal,” Castillo offers, “but we have no clue about who the others might be.” 

“I don’t even know how many are coming,” Macarena replies, “but I’ll try to get their names, so we can add them to the investigation and get more information on them.” 

“What are we going to do in terms of safety?” Fabio questions. “You need to have some kind of protection.”

Macarena locks eyes with Castillo, trying to read what the older man thinks of it. He looks unsure and honestly, Macarena feels the same way. 

“I don’t think we can,” she looks at Fabio. “They had guys on the lookout last time, so we can’t put surveillance cars out there.”

“What about a mic? We need to know you’re okay.”

“No,” the blonde replies. “If they search me, what they’ll most likely do, it’ll blow all our chances immediately. I need to make her trust me first.” 

Silence settles between the four of them as they go through the plan in their own head; Fabio thinks about all the things that could go wrong, Castillo tries to predict what Zulema will do, Nerea would have _loved_ to smuggle some technical equipment in there. Macarena just thinks about the intriguing, raven haired woman and wonders how she can make Zulema trust her. 

“You have experience with behavior, Maca,” Castillo breaks the silence. “What’s your feeling?” 

“It should be fine,” Macarena argues. “She was genuinely interested. I don’t think she’ll try anything that could put me in danger.” 

“I think so too,” Castillo turns to the rest of the group. “Fabio, you and I both have experience with criminals and their methods. Zulema is a smart one; even if she suspects anything or doesn’t trust Macarena, she’ll want to figure out what’s going on first, before she harms anyone. Maca should be safe for now.” 

Either Fabio is complete shit at hiding his feelings or Macarena is just exceptionally good at reading him, but the blonde can sense his attraction towards her already. They’ve only had a few meetings with this group, but Fabio’s obvious concern says everything. That, combined with the way his gaze often settles on her when they’re working, tells her everything she needs to know.

He likes her. 

She doesn’t hate him, but she doesn’t exactly like him either. His 'I need to protect you from all harm' attitude makes her feel inferior rather than taken care of. She’s a private detective, for fuck’s sake. She has dealt with difficult situations more than once in her life. She can handle this. 

“The meeting is at nine,” she announces. “I can try to take a picture of the place and send the address to Castillo, for our case file. And I’ll send a text to our group once I’m done.” 

They talk through some final things and once the meeting is over, Fabio holds Macarena back, waiting until the others are gone. 

“Do you want to go for lunch later? I’m paying.” 

Like Maca said, she doesn’t necessarily _like_ like him, but the idea of a free lunch is something she doesn’t want to turn down. He’s not _that_ annoying. She could give him a chance.

“Sure,” she replies. “After our next meeting? I want to focus on Zulema’s meeting on Friday first.” 

He agrees and waits for Macarena to get her bag and coat, before walking with her to the main exit two floors below. 

* * *

Macarena only has two days to prepare for her first meeting with Zulema’s team. Not that she has much preparation to do, because she has no idea what the meeting will look like, but still. 

She goes shopping on Wednesday, looking for an outfit that will make her look stunning, but that also gives her the confidence boost she needs. Macarena has only seen a few of Zulema’s outfits, but she nevertheless uses these to base her own outfit on. Trying to fit in, she decides against dresses and skirts. 

After spending half an hour in the jeans section, she settles on a pair of skinny denim jeans with high ankles, so her black sneakers will look good underneath them. She finds an off-white turtleneck she really likes, and then a black leather jacket that goes with it. 

On Friday at eight thirty, she stands in front of the mirror in her bathroom, checking her outfit one last time. Her blonde curls spill over her shoulders and her makeup is subtle, just enough to make her look _that_ much better. Her black leather jacket covers most of the long-sleeved turtleneck, but she leaves it open so it shows the item of clothing from her neck all the way down where it’s tucked into her denim jeans.

She looks good. She feels good, too. 

Exactly half an hour later, she pulls up at the address Zulema gave her. It’s an industrial terrain located just inside the M-30, with a few hangars and abandoned buildings. The whole place looks abandoned, honestly, and Macarena isn’t sure she’s at the right place until she spots three other cars. 

_Okay, at least three people,_ she thinks to herself, while she parks next to one of the cars. _Not counting anyone who rode along with someone else._

She checks for people and then quickly snaps a photo with her iPhone, before getting out of the car and making her way towards a large metal door that seems to be the entrance. 

Does she knock? Does she just slide the door open? What if there aren’t any people here?

She settles on the second one and pushes against the metal. It slides to the left with a loud screeching noise and the sound echoes, telling Macarena that the hangar must be empty. 

It is, except for four people standing against one of the back walls. Macarena immediately spots Zulema, who looks up at the sound of the door. The brunette is wearing a similar leather jacket. One hand tucked into the back pocket of her jeans, the other one holding a lit cigarette, she looks ... hot. 

Macarena mentally rolls her eyes at herself for using that word. She’s supposed to focus on her task, so she tears her eyes off Zulema and tries again. 

Aside from Zulema, three other people are looking at her, one of which is a woman. _So, two men and two women? Are these the important members of the team?_ Macarena tries to memorize their faces right away. 

On the other side of the hangar, standing against the metal wall, Zulema watches as the blonde steps inside and slides the door closed again. She takes in Macarena’s outfit and blonde curls and the way she walks, nervous but confident, towards the four of them. Leaning over to Hanbal, Zulema whispers. 

“Intimidate her. I want to see how much she can take.” 

At those words, Hanbal stands up straight. One hand disappears into the pocket of his jacket, while the other dangles loosely next to his body and he starts his short journey towards Macarena.

The blonde is already halfway to the group of four, when she notices one of the young men walking up to her. She simply continues walking, chin up and shoulders back, because it’s important that she doesn’t show any sign of fear right now. 

Macarena and Hanbal meet each other a few feet away from Zulema and the other two members of her group. Macarena is aware of the brunette’s eyes on her while she looks up at the younger man standing in front of her. 

He’s slightly taller than her and wears a t-shirt that shows off his muscled arms. He’s probably impulsive, judging by the look in his eyes and the way he stands. Maca instantly knows she has to be careful around him, but that doesn’t stop her from showing off her own confidence. 

Their eyes meet. 

“Who are you?” the guy asks. 

“Macarena,” the blonde tilts her head, her own attempt to provoke him. “And you?” 

“Hanbal.” 

He leans forward and places both hands on his hips. 

“And, _Macarena_ , what are you doing here?” 

Macarena’s heart is pounding, but she’s determined to prove a point here. She won’t let herself be intimidated by a foreign guy who looks at least five years younger than her. 

“Zulema wanted to see me.” 

“You?” he laughs. “What’s a little blonde like you going to do for us? Zulema doesn’t need the company, _guapa,_ she already has me.” 

Hanbal reaches out to wrap his hand around Macarena’s upper arm, but the blonde is fast and slams it away. The young man seems stunned at this development, not expecting Macarena to fight back, but he immediately tries to regain the upper hand by quickly grabbing both her arms at the same time. 

The blonde isn’t afraid of a fight. She expertly twists her arm and manages to get out of his strong grip within seconds, before stepping into his personal space and pointing a finger at him in warning. 

“Don’t fucking touch me.” 

Hanbal’s eyes grow dark and dangerous and Macarena is sure this will turn into a physical fight if- 

“ _Ya!”_ Zulema’s voice echoes through the empty place. “Hands off. Both of you.” 

They let go of each other immediately and Hanbal turns around, before walking back to the group with Macarena hot on his heels. 

“I said intimidate her, not fight her,” Zulema hisses to her boyfriend. She turns to Macarena, impressed by her physical skills and willingness to not back down. “Good to see you, _rubia._ ” 

Macarena manages a smile in response as she looks at the people surrounding them. Her eyes flicker back to Zulema’s with a silent question in them, hoping to get an answer. 

“Let me introduce you,” the brunette nods. “Saray, Julián and Hanbal. The four of us run this organization. Saray is my best friend, so I suggest you keep on the right side of her. Hanbal, well, you’ve just met him,” Zulema motions towards the young man on her left side and doesn’t miss how Macarena’s eyes flash with anger as her eyes fall on him again. “He’s our professional shooter. Knows everything about guns. And finally, Julián. He leads the technical team, they can hack into everything.” 

Zulema turns back to Macarena. 

“I had Julián run a quick background check on you,” she says. 

_Fuck._

“And?” Macarena questions.

In the silence that follows, the blonde is almost sure she’s already about to be exposed during her first meeting. However, the police operation is off the record, so there aren’t any files to hack into. Her name won’t appear in the police system, and her work as a private detective was mostly off the record as well, so that shouldn’t cause any problems. She did work for a private detective bureau when she first started her job, but they had their data encrypted to protect the privacy of their employees. 

Zulema’s eyes bore into Macarena’s, almost as if she’s trying to decipher exactly what the blonde is feeling right now. Maca tries to keep her breathing even and her posture relaxed, showing no sign of nervousness.

Finally, Zulema answers the question. 

“Nothing unusual so far.”

Macarena lets out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding in. 

“We’re not like those amateur boy gangs who will beat you up as a way of integrating you,” Zulema continues. “We only want the best people and you’ll have to prove to us that you are one of them.” 

Macarena nods in understanding. Her focus shifts to Saray when that one starts to talk. 

“You’re lucky, _rubia,_ because we’re in need of a young woman with flirting skills for our next operation. It seems Zulema considered you the right person for the job, otherwise she wouldn’t have invited you here.” 

“So you think I have flirting skills.” Macarena turns to Zulema with a slight smile on her face. She just _has_ to tease her, especially because Zulema considered their first encounter to be an attempt at flirting. 

Zulema has an unreadable expression on her face. Doesn't comment on Macarena's teasing, doesn't show any signs of going along.

“No. I just think you’ll be better at it than Saray.” 

Saray feigns a hurtful expression, before continuing. 

“Anyway, the idea is the following. There’s this casino and this manager. The manager has something we need, so we need to become friends with him and eventually seduce him.” 

“What does he have that you need?” Macarena asks, half curious and half trying to gather information. Saray is purposefully vague and that’s understandable, but she can try. 

Saray looks at Zulema for permission. The older woman shakes her head.

“You’ll get more information once we decide you’re good enough for the mission,” Zulema tells her. “I want to talk to my team first.” 

“How can I prove myself?” Macarena tries. She knows this mission is necessary for the success of her undercover operation, but a feeling of determination is also bothering her. She doesn’t only want to do this for the police investigation, she also wants to do this to prove herself to Zulema. 

“You can’t,” the brunette answers. “I’ve seen enough the past few minutes. You can go.” 

Macarena frowns.

“What?” 

“You heard me,” Zulema repeats. “I’ll talk to these three first. I’ll text you after.” 

The blonde looks around, meeting Saray’s dark brown eyes and Julián blue ones, before meeting those of Hanbal again. He appears a bit friendlier than in the beginning and Maca briefly wonders if it was all an act. 

“Okay,” she looks at Zulema again. “I’ll hear from you, then.” 

She lets her gaze linger on the older woman for a bit longer and then smiles, a bright and somewhat seductive smile that will surely leave an impression on her. With that, she turns around and makes her way back to the metal door through which she entered the building. 

Zulema watches her go. 

“I like her.” Julián is the first to speak. 

“That’s just because you’re single and she’s hot,” Hanbal counters. "Did you see-” 

“Can we stop the objectification, _por favor?”_ Zulema’s voice shuts both of them up. “Give me a useful opinion.” 

“I think she’s okay,” Julian tries again. “Confident, outspoken. She’s a tough one.” 

“Yeah, she’s obviously not easily intimidated,” Hanbal adds. “I think we could use her. Even if it’s just to flirt with our targets. That’ll make our lives a whole lot easier.” 

Zulema nods and turns to her best friend. The expression on Saray’s face already tells her everything she needs to know: Saray is unsure.

“I don’t like it, Zule,” comes the expected answer. “She’s a graduated college student, working as a waitress. Where did that go wrong?” 

“She said it was a temporary job,” Zulema explains. “She’s looking for something else. Let’s be real, working as a waitress pays like shit.”

Zulema looks at the three most important people in her organization. If her own emotions overrule her rational mind, these three are always there to help her out. Julián says yes. Hanbal says yes. Saray says maybe. Zulema herself … doesn’t know. There’s something about Macarena, but letting her into this organization is something she normally wouldn’t agree on. Not this soon. 

“Go with her,” Saray offers. “If you’re quick, she should just be getting in her car right now. Go with her to her house. You can ask her some more questions, get a good feeling of what she’s like. And if she’s working on something against us, or if you find anything you don’t trust, you’ll know.” 

* * *

Back in the safety of her car, Macarena lets out a breath. Her leather jacket comes off and finds a new home on the passenger seat. She turns the key in the ignition and opens Google Maps on her phone, because she has no idea how to get out of here. 

She’s just in the middle of typing in her home address and choosing the fastest route when the door on the passenger side suddenly opens and she barely manages to suppress a scream.

“What the hell?” 

The raven haired woman grabs hold of the leather jacket and throws it over Macarena’s shoulder, into the backseat, and sits down next to her. 

“ _Hola_ , _rubia_.” 

“That was expensive!” Maca leans over and grabs her jacket from the backseat, before neatly folding it and putting it back where it came from. 

“I’ll buy you another one,” Zulema sighs. “Anyway. You’re taking me home.” 

“Perdon?” 

“I want to see where you live.” 

Macarena scans Zulema’s face for any signs that she’s joking. She doesn’t seem to be.

“Why?” she asks. “Is that necessary?” 

Zulema tilts her head and pretends to think, but already knows the answer. 

“Yes.” 

It seems Macarena doesn’t have a choice. She presses the _start route_ button and looks over her shoulder, before she slowly starts to drive out of the parking lot and turns onto the main road. 

If God exists, she really needs Him now, because Macarena prays she hasn’t left any case files to linger on the kitchen counter. She often immerses herself in active cases, works on them day and night. Case files are usually all over her apartment by the time she’s completely wrapped up in an investigation. Her mission will be over if Zulema finds them. However, this is only week two, so she prays the case files are still neatly stacked in one of her bags. 

The twenty-minute drive is silent, but not awkward. Zulema simply scrolls on her phone and asks some random questions, while Macarena tries to focus on the road and not on the woman next to her. Two weeks ago, she was observing Zulema and trying to figure out her daily routine from within this car. Today, Zulema sits next to her as they drive to her apartment for what feels like a final test. 

Finally, she pulls up in front of her building.

“Here it is,” she motions, finding a free parking spot. “I live on the second.” 

Macarena feels Zulema’s eyes on her back as she leads the way into the building and up the stairs, towards the second floor. Her key gives them access to the apartment and Macarena walks in first, stealing a quick glance at the kitchen counter and the side table next to her couch. 

Nothing. Not a single case file to be seen. 

Macarena exhales in relief and closes the door behind Zulema, who walks into the living room. 

“Nice place you have,” she mentions. “A little small, though. Do you live alone?”

The brunette isn’t very subtle while she fishes for information regarding Macarena’s personal life. The blonde smiles. 

“Yes, I live alone,” she answers. “No boyfriend. Or girlfriend. Not that I like women, I mean, I don’t really know, but …,” she trails off, halfway through her messy sentence. 

She blushes. Zulema grins at the sight of the blonde being uncomfortable. 

“Are you with someone?” Macarena asks, trying to talk herself out of the awkward moment. This attempt at fishing for information isn’t very subtle either, though.

“Hanbal. He’s my boyfriend,” the brunette answers nevertheless. 

Macarena pretends she doesn’t already know.

“Oh? Isn’t that … difficult?”

“Difficult how?”

“I mean, it’s usually difficult to run a business with your significant other,” she gestures, while her keys slide into their standard bowl on the kitchen counter. “Problems in the workplace are easily brought into your personal lives.” 

“We have our own ways to deal with that. “

Zulema looks around the room; she scans the shelves of books for anything out of the ordinary, she glances at a pile of unread mail sitting on a chair near the door. Everything seems okay. 

“Are you and Saray the only two women in your organization?” Macarena asks.

Zulema turns around to face the blonde, who’s busy getting drinks for them in the kitchen. 

“Why the curiosity?”

“Just because,” Macarena shrugs. “It’s unusual to see two women in a criminal organization, especially if they’re the ones running it.” 

“I can hold my own.”

“I certainly don’t doubt that.” 

Macarena slides a full glass over the counter, towards Zulema.

“Do you want to see my bedroom as well, or was this enough for you?” 

“Don’t tempt me,” Zulema answers. She finds that she actually enjoys this casual banter. They could become friends, she thinks. Or at least business partners. There’s a pleasant push and pull between the two of them; not too obvious, not too one-sided, just nice. This is proven once again when Macarena takes a sip of her drink and rounds the kitchen island, coming to stand in front of Zulema.

“Everything okay?” she asks. Her eyes hold a light sparkle. 

“Perfect,” Zulema replies. She keeps her eyes trained on Macarena for a little longer, trying to make the blonde feel uncomfortable, but Macarena doesn’t budge. 

“Keep my drink, _rubia._ I have to go.” 

Zulema suddenly turns and heads for the door without saying another word. The blonde follows her with her eyes, unsure, maybe she said something wrong? 

“Hey, but, are you still going to-”

The door falls shut behind Zulema, leaving Macarena on her own in the silence of her apartment with three unanswered questions, two drinks and one very confusing feeling. 

She ends up on the couch with her own drink and that of Zulema’s. Fifteen long minutes pass by until her phone vibrates with a new message. 

**_Zulema Zahir_** _: You’re in. First meeting with the rest on Monday. I’ll text you the address later._


End file.
